Flying, camera's in the hold or in the cabin?

Swissy

Swissy

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Flying on Saturday not sure where to pack my camera's, laptop, PSVita etc etc i know i would feel safer if they came with me in my hand luggage, but will that cause problems when going through security?
Should i just put them in my suitcase?

I'll be taking a Canon 600D with 40mm STM and a 10-20 Sigma, as well as a Panasonic GX1 with 14mm f2.5

What do you guys do?
 
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I have always taken my camera/lenses etc as hand luggage- also mobile, laptop and 3ds etc. I would never trust them in the hold, you have NO idea what they do to hold luggage.
 
My d90 and now D610 have been all around the world, and within Arms reach at all times. No problem aywhere, except maybe west africa where they will try to bribe you for them, or offer you thier wife etc in exchange.

Cabin luggage isnt as safe as you might think also. I've hear of a few occasions where things have been stolen from bags in the overhead compartments on flights...
 
cabin as hand luggage. Beware of the extra large hand luggage people who arrive late and try to stuff their suitcase into a space your camera bag is.
If possible I put it under the seat
 
Hand baggage every time. Should really cause 'problems' at security, you will probably just be asked to switch it on in front of them. Make sure your batteries are all charged for the various devices (y)
 
Flew to Venice a few weeks ago and made sure the cameras were in the cabin with us. D3100 was in the cabin luggage on the way out and in my hand on the way back. The XF1 was in my pocket at both times so went through the scanner with everything else from my pockets. No problems whatsoever.
 
Flew back from Ireland on Sunday. I had DSLR plus a couple of lenses and a laptop in hand baggage. Removed laptop at security there and back.
Left photo gear in bag and had no issues at all. They didn't bother looking in the bag.
 
Definitely hand luggage - don't even think about putting it in the hold which can get seriously cold (minus degrees), so when you emerge in a hot country your lenses and cameras can be covered in condensation.

Whatever your views are on photographic vests, they are great for carrying a lot of gear onto a plane. At the moment they are are not classified as hand lugage.
 
my kit goes around the world and always as hand luggage
 
Unless it's in a padlocked, well padded peli-case.. carry on only for me.
 
Even in a well padded and locked Peli or similar, sticking a (modern) camera kit in the hold is probably forbidden since there's a very good chance there'll be at least one Lithium based battery and they have to be in hand baggage.

Check your hand baggage weight allowance and the weight of your kit and get the kit underweight! Not all airports or carriers weight hand baggage but if they do and your bag is over, they can insist you either reduce the weight of your bag (stuff a few lenses in pockets [I always wear a fleece with big pockets just in case ;)]) or put it in the hold.
 
i used to work on the ramp at the airport - dont put it in the hold - go for carry on hand luggage - rifling was bad when i worked there a few years back.
 
Hand luggage unless you have a flight case.
There will be no problems at security.
 
Always carry as hand luggage, No probe with Security only in Germany they always make me take the cameras out every time to do a bomb test on them and make you turn them on and take a shot etc.
 
Beware if you also take a rocket blower, under xray it may well look like a small bomb, so take it out and hand it over during luggage checks and customs bays for independant inspection
 
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Hand luggage for anything electric as insurance has a nasty bit of small print saying they won't pay out for expensive items put in hold....

Ummm nice huh what's the point in insurance.
 
Thanks for all the comments, you just confirmed what i was 99% going to do anyway, and put it all in my hand luggage, i'm just worried that they will want to examine everything, but rather that than take a chance on them getting damaged in the hold, cheers.
 
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The way I look at it is anything you don't want broken or stolen should (wherever possible) go into hand luggage.

The security examiners will see hundreds or thousands of electronic items a day, they will be expecting them and a quick switch on is all that is normally necessary.
 
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Hand luggage. So you can take nice pics out of the window of the plane's wing.

Oh, and all the other sensible reasons other people have mentioned.
 
Joeturner11 said:
Always carry as hand luggage, No probe with Security only in Germany they always make me take the cameras out every time to do a bomb test on them and make you turn them on and take a shot etc.
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Yep, on a trip via Frankfurt I had to take my cameras out and get them swabbed before they went through an x ray machine sans tray. The conveyor belt was filthy and I wondered if the strap would get caught in the machine. All fine in the end.
 
Took my camera's with me on board, sailed through security told them I had some but they weren't bothered.
 
Blank_Canvas said:
Definitely hand luggage - don't even think about putting it in the hold which can get seriously cold (minus degrees), so when you emerge in a hot country your lenses and cameras can be covered in condensation.
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Seriously? I can assure you that the freight bays on modern aircraft are not much colder than the passenger cabin! Not seriously cold or minus degrees at all.

But anyway, take it in the cabin as baggage handlers don't care much for what's in the bags at the best of times!!
 
Swissy said:
Took my camera's with me on board, sailed through security told them I had some but they weren't bothered.
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Did that the last time I flew, although, that was only to Jersey. Think my (at the moment, planned) trip to the US next year may be slightly different.. :D
 
Camera in hand luggage for in-flight selfie with other half definitely :LOL:

In all seriousness, i've always just put my hand luggage under the seat in front, as long as you aren't sat in one of the emergency exit rows it's normally okay. Downside is less footspace but you get to keep an eye on your belongings and can get stuff out without disturbing anyone. The way some people shove their bags into the overhead compartment is enough for me to not want put my precious camera gear up there (n)
 
Always in the cabin for bodies, lenses and essential items. Bits and pieces that can be more easily replaced/less likely to be nicked go in the hold. It'd put it all in hand luggage if there wasn't a weight limit.
 
nessiemac said:
Seriously? I can assure you that the freight bays on modern aircraft are not much colder than the passenger cabin! Not seriously cold or minus degrees at all.

But anyway, take it in the cabin as baggage handlers don't care much for what's in the bags at the best of times!!
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Seriously ! , it's happened to me. When I landed in Bahrain my bags were extremley cold there was condensation on the metalwork. I don't know if there was a fault in the cargo compartment but it can and has happened.
 
Blank_Canvas said:
Seriously ! , it's happened to me. When I landed in Bahrain my bags were extremley cold there was condensation on the metalwork. I don't know if there was a fault in the cargo compartment but it can and has happened.
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So all the animals that are carried in the hold were carried out dead?

More likely, the condensation was caused because you boarded in cool conditions, the plane is sealed and the hold heated to between 7° and 15° and when the hold was opened up in the hot conditions of Bahrain, made the condensation on the bags and the feeling of cold.
 
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Dave1 said:
So all the animals that are carried in the hold were carried out dead?

More likely, the condensation was caused because you boarded in cool conditions, the plane is sealed and the hold heated to between 7° and 15° and when the hold was opened up in the hot conditions of Bahrain, made the condensation on the bags and the feeling of cold.
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There weren't any !

....and I bordered the plane in Cyprus.
 
Blank_Canvas said:
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There weren't any !

....and I bordered the plane in Cyprus.
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Still doesn't make sense. If the hold froze, why didn't you? They are not separate sealed compartments.

From a pilot:

What temperature is it in the baggage hold?

Many are surprised to hear that the cargo hold in the belly of an airliner is pressurized. Conditioned air is directed from the cabin, so the air tends to be a little cooler by the time it reaches the cargo areas, which are also less insulated than the cabin. Cargo temperatures vary in our fleet. The Boeing 767 maintains its baggage hold above 7˚C, but the bulk area (where animals are carried) can be heated above 18˚C. Controlled temperature cargo bins are also available when temperature-sensitive goods are being shipped.

captain-speaking-doug.jpg

Doug Morris is an Air Canada pilot and captain on the Airbus A320.
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http://enroute.aircanada.com/en/articles/what-temperature-is-it-in-the-baggage-hold
 
realspeed said:
Beware if you also take a rocket blower, under xray it may well look like a small bomb, so take it out and hand it over during luggage checks and customs bays for independant inspection
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Nah - looks nothing like a bomb on a modern x-ray machine .

Swissy said:
Took my camera's with me on board, sailed through security told them I had some but they weren't bothered.
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We seem camera's all day every day so you very quickly realise when something doesn't look right .
 
I was surprised to see that Tower Gates professional photographer insurance covers gear which is in the hold of an aircraft:
http://www.towergatecamerasure.co.uk/professional.aspx

I guess this is useful to those of us who might be transporting things which take up a lot of space like studio lights and tripods. I know I always end up having to put my tripod in the hold, even if I take the travel one I always get a security guy who thinks that I'll use it as a weapon :confused:. But luckily my tripod is only worth £300, but I'd be really worried about checking a Gitzo or similar.
 
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